324 LABRADOR 



men. Spain charges $2.34 per quintal, Italy 40 cents only, 

 Greece 38 cents, Portugal 12.14, Brazil $1.39, United States 

 84 cents; Persia, of all countries, free import, and the 

 United Kingdom, free as usual ! France pays 50 francs 

 to each member of a crew drying fish away from France; 

 30 francs to each member of a crew drying the fish in France ; 

 approximately 10 francs on every quintal of salt fish shipped 

 to transatlantic countries; 16 francs per quintal on ship- 

 ments to cisatlantic countries; a bounty of 20 francs 

 on cod roe brought back to France. So that besides the 

 prohibitive duty on the fish of other countries, grants to 

 foster French fisheries amount to approximately one and 

 one-quarter million dollars per annum. That means that, 

 if our fishermen were accorded similar privileges, they could 

 almost afford to catch fish, get the bounty, and give the 

 fish away. 



These important duties and bounties show that some 

 countries do not value the codfish much, or they would 

 welcome it in freely as a cheap food-stuff. Yet they strive 

 all they can to make their own men go and catch it. Great 

 are the mysteries of statesmanship ! 



Now the value to the human race, or any section of it, 

 of a particular calling or industry or commodity cannot be 

 measured altogether by the dollars each brings the govern- 

 ment or the number of people it employs, though we are 

 apt to apply these standards. If we did so, the liquor 

 traffic would be classed among the most valuable to the 

 race. Yet while the fishery is productive and constructive, 

 the liquor trade is destructive, both of human capacity 

 and of material. Probably of all industries the one of 

 first importance to the British race is that which involves 



